The Seris Story: Darquae the Lupe
by sirussblack
Summary: Seris travels to Tyrannia with his new Buzzer and meets a strange Lupe named Darquae. (Published in Issue 134.)


A chilling wind blew across Seris' face. His pet Buzzer, Ray'tur, was buzzing around in the air, being pelted by the raindrops falling from the dark sky. Ray'tur was named after Seris' best friend who had moved a few months back. Luckily, he had gotten over it quickly or else he would have been in deep despair. The Fire Draik adjusted his long brown coat and walked ahead, keeping a careful eye on his PetPet.  
  
They were in this dreary weather for only one reason. That was to get away from it. Seris decided to take a break from working and have a nice vacation in the ancient rock and stone of Tyrannia. He had enjoyed going there when his owner was around and hadn't been there in ages. He thought it was time for him to go again.  
  
Seris remembered playing with his long gone sister, running around the rocks and daring to go into the "lair of the beast". He had always been carefree back then. His owner was around all the time and never let the two out of his site. That all changed when his sister was in the hospital. Seris tried never to think about that. After her passing, his owner took barely any interest in the Draik. Then, a year or so back his owner disappeared completely from the face of Neopia. Seris never saw him since, except when he visited to check his stocks. Then he'd leave for a long period of time. So, Seris had to fend for himself.  
  
Shaking all the thoughts of his past out of his mind, Seris jogged up ahead, where he Buzzer was airborne again, swiftly gliding through the trees and signs. "Come on, let's not stay here long. I'm soaking wet!" Seris yelled to the small bee-shaped creature.  
  
It cocked its head and buzzed. Then it flew down and landed on Seris' wing. The Draik skimmed his claw over its short back and started onwards again, hoping to get to the nearest boat before the rain got worse.  
  
Soon, after walking a little more, the two reached the dock where a Uni was standing in a raincoat, looking out at what seemed to be nothing. Then, her crystal blue eyes looked at Seris. "Where to?" she asked.  
  
Seris looked at the old, dingy boats. "Uhm, Tyrannia."  
  
The Uni let them into a small building where a few other Neopets were waiting, twiddling their thumbs or laying down. Seris took a seat and played with his Buzzer for a bit. Before he knew it, he was on the boat heading the Tyrannia.  
  
Riding the boat wasn't what he expected at all. The rain came down in sheets, soaking the small boat as it rocked its way through the raging waters. It was freezing and through the whole ride, Seris thought it was a definite yes that he had caught hypothermia. Luckily, as they got closer and closer to Tyrannia, the rain died down until there was nothing but a slight fog around the boat.  
  
After hours of riding, Seris felt shaky when he took his first steps on shore. He looked behind him and beckoned his Buzzer to come up on his shoulder. He did and then they were both off through the brown rock of the ancient civilization.  
  
It was only a few minutes before the two got to the center of the town. People were lined up in front of the Giant Omelet, crowded around the ticket booth, and rioting near the weapon shop. Seris sighed. It brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad.  
  
Seris started off to the ticket booth, where he was hoping to get tickets to the Twisted Roses concert that night. But, because of the crowd, Seris was quickly pushed away. So, Seris had nothing else to do but walk around the town, looking at all the people mobbing the stores in this historic little world.  
  
After walking a fair distance, the two found themselves in a grass-filled part of Tyrannia which was without a doubt the Tyrannian Jungle. Seris looked around. He had rarely ever gone into the jungle as he had heard of some strange things happening there. Cannibals, weapons, and dung weren't exactly his favorite things to be around. Still, Seris walked onward, listening to the "Ugga"'s and the "Ooga"'s being muttered through the town.  
  
He wished someone spoke English around here. So, he started to yell. "Does anyone speak English around here?"  
  
A gray colored Lupe came up to him, a sword by his side. "I do. What must you yell for and disturb this peaceful place?"  
  
Seris stared at the sword. It was long, at least three feet. It must've weighed a ton! There were intricate markings on the blade and the golden top. "Sorry..." Seris muttered. "Is there anything at all to do around here?"  
  
The Lupe laughed. "Of course. By the way, I'm Darquae." He smiled, holding out his paw.  
  
Seris shook it quickly and looked around. "Nice to meet you. I'm Seris. So, where is some action? When I came here as a kid, there was so much to do."  
  
"Ah, you were young and everything seemed like an adventure. There are a few strange things happening around here though... Town folks possessions have gone missing. When they're sleeping, things start disappearing."  
  
Seris then said, "Oh, interesting. Is there anything I can do to help?" His eyes drifted to the sword again. It was like he could stop looking at it. So long...shiny...he had to ask. "Can...can I see the sword?"  
  
Darquae looked down at his hip. "This?" he held it up. "No...no, you can't. It's precious to the whole city. It's a symbol of my father and is worth billions of Neopoints. I couldn't risk it. I was entrusted by the mayor to watch over it and to make sure no one steals it. You're a stranger and I don't trust strangers. Sorry, Seris, but you can't." He gently brushed the sword with his paw, his large brown eyes reflecting in its' gleam.  
  
Seris sighed. "Okay...fine then. Still, anything I can do to help the town?"  
  
"Oh, yes, definitely. You can..." Darquae thought for a moment. "You can...help me search for the thief. We can capture him and then get all the peoples belongings back safely." He said, sweat rolling down his forehead. "Yeah...and then we can...we can put him in jail."  
  
Seris nodded. "Okay, so...where do we start?"  
  
Darquae chuckled. "Let's review what I've found," he said while walking over to Seris and pulling out a notepad from somewhere inside his fur. His eyes skimmed the paper, reading it over before talking. "The creature definitely had two feet. The four footprints in the house were hops or something. No...couldn't have been four legs." His eyes stared down at his legs. "He was large...like you, Seris. Draik or Uni size approximately."  
  
Seris nodded, trying to follow and memorize what he said. After Darquae rambled on a bit more, they both started out searching for footprints...  
  
***  
  
The sun had set and the two had found many things, but most were discarded by Darquae. So, as the full moon was in the air, the pair retired to their beds. Seris had decided to spend the night with Darquae.  
  
As Seris was closing his eyes after staying up and talking to himself all night, he saw Darquae get out of bed, muttering to himself. He went deeper into the covers and only let his eyes show to see what was going on. Darquae walked out of the room and out of his eyesight.  
  
Seris jumped quietly out of his bed and tiptoed down the hallways, following a fully dressed Darquae. The sword was at his side, gleaming in the rooms' candlelight (from the few candles around on tables). He continued to mutter, walking around, taking no notice to Seris.  
  
Soon, the Lupe started out the door. Curiosity took hold of Seris and he followed him through the empty Tyrannian streets to a small shop. Seris looked up at the sign on the top of the red building. DARQUAE'S DEALS was what it read.  
  
Seris looked back at the windows of the shop. The lights were now on and the sign that said open was blinking in the window. Darquae shuffled around the floor, grabbing a piece of cardboard, a marker, and a pedestal. He put the piece of board down on the pedestal and wrote something on it with the marker. He then grabbed the sword from his side and gently put it on the pedestal and put the sign in front of it.  
  
Then, Seris saw a few more items lined up against the shelves at very high prices. It took him a minute to figure out what was going on. When he did, he didn't think at all. The Draik marched into the store.  
  
"You traitor!" Seris shouted, pointing a finger at the Lupe who had his back turned to him.  
  
The Lupe chuckled. "Sorry, Seris. Money is more important than friendship," he said and turned around. "Maybe you should have thought about coming in here before you did. I can take the sword and dispose of you right now and I wouldn't hesitate."  
  
Seris shuddered. "I don't want you to cause me any harm. All I want to know is why you would do something so...stupid."  
  
"It was my choice. I stole from others and it felt good. Still, people trusted me and I knew I would be able to take their most precious item someday," he said. Darquaes' face looked as if he was an angry ghost. "The sword was that item and because I was assigned to watch over it, I knew nobody would suspect me...or I hoped no one would. Soon, after a few months of having the sword, I decided I had to do it soon, so I chose tonight no matter what happened. Unfortunately, you were there and you were awake. So, you followed me out of curiosity and ended up here where you saw me pricing the sword to sell it. The rest is what is about to happen now."  
  
The Lupe walked over to Seris and stood on his hind legs. "Drag me away to the mayor... I did wrong," he said.  
  
Seris did as he was told...  
  
After Seris took him to the mayor, it was a long three days. Seris had to tell the town about what he saw and what he thought may have caused the theft. Then, on the third day he was there (and the final) Darquae was banned from ever going back to the town or near it.  
  
As Seris was leaving Tyrannia, the mayor of the town came up to him and thanked him. Seris smiled and got onboard the boat with Ray'tur, going back to Neopia Central again...  
  
The End 


End file.
